Fadi Salem

Subject studied: DPhil Public Policy

Matriculation year: 2014

Location: United Arab Emirates

Dr Fadi Salem is a global expert in digital governance and artificial intelligence policy, with more than 20 years of policy impact across government, international organisations and research institutions. He is director of the Policy Research Department at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) and senior research fellow in digital governance and technology policy. He leads the School’s Centre for the Future of Government and is founding Editor-in-Chief of The Policy Review.

In recognition of his policy and research contributions, Fadi was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as a member of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA). He also serves as co-chair of the UNESCO SPARK-AI Alliance of Schools of Public Administration and president of the Digital Government Society’s AI-GOV Chapter. In addition, he is a member of several international governance and advisory boards, co-director of the Global Risk and AI Safety Preparedness (GRASP) Initiative, and a Lead AI Ethics Certified Assessor with the IEEE.

Previously, Fadi was a research associate at the Harvard Kennedy School and a fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He holds a DPhil in Public Policy from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, an MSc in Management from the London School of Economics, and a BEng in Computer Engineering from the University of Aleppo.

Fadi is the author of several influential annual publication series, datasets and global indices, including the Global Economic Diversification Index, the Arab Sustainable Development Goals Index, the Arab Social Media Report series, and the Creative Industries and Culture Cities Index. His international policy engagements include projects with the World Bank, UNESCO, UNDESA, UNDP, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the OECD.